Teenage Dirtbag
by gustin puckerman
Summary: "In return for all of the beatings I've taken over the course of our friendship―" Merida shook her head quickly, glaring. "No." "You are here obligated to make Jack Frost fall for you." ― AU!High school. Jack/Merida, featuring The Big Four and characters from Frozen.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Everything belongs to their rightful owner(s)  
**Pairings**: main Jack/Merida, side-Jack/Elsa, Hiccup/Elsa, Rapunzel/Hiccup.  
**Word Count**: 2,041 word(s).  
**Genre**: Romance, Friendship, Drama.  
**World/Story Settings**: AU. Modern times. 21st century.  
**Ratings**: PG-13/T.  
**Summary**: "In return for all of the beatings I've taken over the course of our friendship―" Merida shook her head quickly, glaring. "No." "You are here obligated to make Jack Frost fall for you."

* * *

**Teenage Dirtbag**  
**...**

"I am _not_ going to seduce him just because yer had a stupid wee crush on the lad's girlfriend!"

"Okay. Elsa is _not_ his girlfriend, though I admit, they do look like it, but that's only because the whole school expected them to be together and it all kinda made sense, but it doesn't, and just because they have matching white hair does not mean that they should go out and make more white haired little babies because I do _not_ approve, and that would just be creepy. They'd be like a bunch white-headed blob floating around except it's not a blob, it's just _their babies_."

Merida didn't snarl at how stupid that mindset was.

"Hiccup." She slammed her locker shut. "No."

"Yes, Merida, _yes_. Say yes. Please. I'm begging you."

"Rapunzel. Knock some sense into him, will ya'?" Merida shot the shy blonde a look, earning nothing but a tight, strained smile that only Merida knew the true meaning behind, and sighed helplessly. She turned back to the brunet, squaring her shoulders, just like so many times before, when she had to face her nine-year-old brothers. But now, of course, she's facing a seventeen-year-old boy, who supposedly passed all of his tests with nothing but A and above. "I'd only say this once, ay, so listen up ― I will not seduce Jack Frost."

Hiccup's face fell. "Well, why _not?_"

"Why not?" Merida echoed, wide-eyed. "Because, you daft prick, I said so."

"Oh, and you said you're nothing like your mother."

_SLAP_.

"Ouch!"

"Merida!" yelped Rapunzel, now hushing over Hiccup, who had his hands clasped behind the back of his skull, where Merida's textbooks just came in contact with, a few seconds ago; Rapunzel glared, but not strong enough that Merida resisted her urge to roll her eyes backward.

"Seriously, Merida. Abused friendship. We talked about this." Hiccup bit out dryly, hushing Rapunzel down that really, he's fine.

"It must have slipped me mind." She excused nonchalantly, waving her hands in a dismissive gesture.

"I think you owe me an apology." Hiccup responded, hands by his hips, his small face pinched in determination. Merida narrowed his eyes up at him. _What_. "Rapunzel, don't you think she owes me an apology?"

Rapunzel nodded slowly, eyes glancing at Hiccup to Merida. "I think you owe him an apol―"

"_She_ thinks you owe me an apology!" Hiccup blurted out quickly, cutting poor Rapunzel off, while Merida rolled her eyes. Again. Sometimes she wondered how she got herself stuck here. Yeah, okay, sometimes she's grateful, because by the end of the day, she loved Hiccup and Rapunzel to death. But sometimes, just sometimes you know ― _she really wondered how_.

"_Fine_." Merida pressed on. "In the good name of ma good father Sir Ferg―"

"Not in that sense."

"_What?_"

"You heard me." Hiccup gave her a smug look. "In return for all of the beatings I've taken over the course of our friendship―"

No. Merida shook her head quickly, glaring. "What!"

"―the only was I see fit for you to mend your mistake is to obey my one and simple rule―"

"No."

"You are here obligated to make Jack Frost fall for you."

"I do not." She huffed out again, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, you do. You owe me."

"I don't owe you nothin', Haddock. And yer, and yer little game can stop right now, because I am no part of this." She turned on her heels. "And yer can't force me into _this_." She gestured towards his whole appearance, teeth gritted and eyes furrowed together in that familiar rebellious trait she wore so much. Her wild, orange-red hair tickled the side of her cheeks, but she took no notice of it. She grabbed Rapunzel's wrist and tugged the blonde along, "Now if you'll excuse us, Rapunzel and I will be going to our first class."

"I'll see you at lunch?" Rapunzel smiled, blinking at the only man in their group.

"Yeah, sure." Hiccup shrugged, smiled back and narrowed his eyes up at the Scot. "And you― we're not done with this."

"Oh yes, we are." Her accent flown in thickly, and she finally took Rapunzel away from him.

"YOU OWE ME!" Hiccup yelled loudly as the pair got further and further away, lost in the sea of known as high school students.

Merida groaned and bit out, only to herself, "No, I don't."

"Hey, did you finish the homework―"

"And you!"

Rapunzel blinked, mouth open, fear flashed across her eyes. "What?" She meekly replied, her sweet, little face saddened.

Merida groaned at that ― _it's like if puppies were humans _― and regained her conscious thoughts because this was little Rapunzel, and the last thing she would want to do was set the waterworks. Merida calmed herself down and stared at the innocent blonde, tilting her head to one side. "Why aren't yer still sayin' anythin'?"

"What is there to say―"

"Oh, come on, Punzie. We talked about this." Merida pressed on, searching for the blonde's green eyes, as she leaned down, whispering out harshly, "When are yer goin' to confess that you like the wimpy lad?"

"Hiccup is _not_ wimpy―"

"Okay, yeah, whatever. He's super strong and I'm so terrified of his humongous muscle."

"Merida! That's not nice."

"Yer get the point."

"I just― I don't―" Rapunzel fumbled with her textbooks, her eyes traveled across the floor, avoiding Merida's stern gaze. When she finally looked up, Merida could detect the small hint of pink colouring her cheeks, flushed. "I _can't_, Merida. Have you seen the way he looks at Elsa? He's _in love_."

"That's stupid."

Rapunzel spatted her Scottish friend on the arm. "It's not."

"Yes it is." Merida winced at the burn of Rapunzel's slap to her arm ― for a mouse, she got good hands ― and frowned. "Yer know I don't believe in this. How can it be love when yer just _seventeen_?"

"Love knows no age."

Merida snorted. "Whatever. I'm ain't falling for it."

"And Elsa's so beautiful. Who _wouldn't_ fall for her?"

"Are yer kidding me?" Merida scoffed, her mind reeled back as her memory box peeled open to conjure up the face of Elsa Arendelle, also known as the _Snow Queen_. The star of the school. For someone who wasn't a cheerleader, she sure got all of the students under her thumb. Good reputation, poise appearances, respectable intelligence and undefined beauty― what, with those blue eyes and porcelain skin. Merida snorted some more. "There's no such thing."

"Oh, Merida, you wouldn't understand."

"Understand _what?_"

"It's― you can't, okay. It sucks being in my position."

"Then _do_ something."

"Easy for _you_ to say."

"Hmph!" Merida stomped her foot stubbornly. "Fine then. Don't do anything. See if I care." With that, she turned on her heels again and entered the class, finding it half-filled and the teacher absent. Merida glanced at the clock above the door to note that there were still a few good minutes before class officially started, and found herself a decent seat around the back. She always have to sit at the back now ― not after the school called her Mum to lay down the complaints they received of parents saying their children couldn't see the board with her hair getting in the way. Merida was still pretty pissed about that ― as if they gave a frack to pay attention.

She watched Rapunzel moved, staggered a little at the front seats ― where she _always_ preferred to sit at in classes ― and moved, with shaky confidence, up to Merida. The Scot raised a questionable eyebrow. Rapunzel avoided her stare, "Jack Frost."

"What?" Merida found herself responding.

"The guy Hiccup asked you to seduce."

Merida shut her eyes in complete grieve, plastering her hands over her face, "Not you too."

"No, no. It's just― do you know who he is?"

Merida angled her face away so that her fingers won't cover her eyes, and she considered Rapunzel's question. "Who doesn't?" She chose to answer, "The lad who had it all. Good looks, an even more good athlete. Nice enough personality, but honestly― you learn one, you learn 'em all."

"He's just like you, right?"

"Hm?" Now Merida was just plain confused.

"Athletic. He's kind of like you right?"

"Ay, in a way." Merida shrugged, finally leaning back against her chair. Her mind recalled back on Jack Frost, the star jock. He was nothing of a great build, not in _Kristoff_ sense, or lean and still big, like _Hans_ who's the pompous, wild card which she shared a few cigarettes now and then, or like _Flynn Rider_ who's the college drop-out of whom she had the misfortune of befriending last summer. Jack Frost was lean, and well-formed, which made him quick on his feet ― sneaky, fast, and he knew his way around a game, that was sure. But he wasn't _Merida_ kind of sports either. _Traditional_. That was what her personal coach had commented when they first met. Archery and horseback-riding. Was it traditional though? It wouldn't matter. What matter was that she loved doing them, and if she had the power, she won't ever stop doing them.

"So, you have a lot in common..."

"What's yer point, Rapunzel?"

"I don't know," the blonde shrugged her shoulders, munching her lips. "It's just― if you want to seduce him, it won't be that hard, would it?"

"Are yer _asking_ me to seduce the lad?"

"_Seducing_ is a harsh word," Rapunzel murmured, pressing her lips together. "I'd like to think of it as _distracting_ him."

"No."

"But, Merida―"

"I can't believe yer! Yer in '_love'_ with the hopeless guy and you want him to get the _other_ girl?"

"Shh! People are _staring_."

"No. I don't _care_. How can you even―"

"Merida, all I'm saying is―"

"Oh my god, ma friends are _insane!_"

"Think of it as a challenge."

"A _what?_"

"I know Jack."

Merida squinted her eyes, surprised. "You do?"

"We've talked. On several occasions." Rapunzel nodded, "We were paired up for a project last year in Arts Club. Well, along with Manny, but he was hallucinating most of the time, so he really wasn't _there_ when he should be. It's a long story―" Rapunzel nodded, waving the details away. "Anyway, he's not a bad guy. Jack Frost, that is, not Manny."

"So?"

"But he's really― _stubborn_, you know? Kind of like you, but in a _different_ way. He's more subtle about it, I guess." Rapunzel went on, her eyes glancing towards the ceiling, tapping her chin with a pen. Merida noted dully how she always did that when she tried to remember something, or was just thinking matters through. She wondered if Rapunzel noticed her own habit. "So imagine if he likes Elsa, and I really think he does, it'll be an absolute challenge for you to _distract_ him."

"Okay," Merida listened, suddenly a small part of her flipped in joy ― she was actually interested.

"And you―" Rapunzel smiled, her green eyes lighting up in a brilliant sense that told Merida things were getting her way. Sometimes Merida forgot just how devious Rapunzel could be, especially when she manipulated people into doing whatever she wants. _Hm_. "You like a challenge."

_Damn_.

* * *

She guessed she's _distracting_ Jack Frost after all.

* * *

"I'll think about it," was what Merida said when the teacher finally walked in and ordered for all students to be seated.

She watched how Rapunzel nodded her head excitedly, restraining a squeal at the back of her throat, before she hopped away to the front and took a seat. And that was how she spent the rest of the class, her head filled with thoughts of a certain white-haired boy and a way to satisfy her stubborn hunger for the new challenge.

...

**Author's Note: Finally. A simple fanfic, with a simple plot. I've missed this. Praised to whoever put _The Big Four_ together, because if that didn't happen, I wouldn't have known Jack/Merida and fell in love with it. Please leave a review, and I hope you'll be sticking around for the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Teenage Dirtbag**

...

This was almost out of the ordinary — _almost_.

Merida never stayed back. Although according to the athlete society they had at Walt's High, she probably should. Because after school-hour would be the time for the jocks to hang out, practice and did whatever it was that athletes did. And she never really participated in it. But being in the sports that she was in — equestrianism and archery — nobody ever really questioned her for not staying back at school. After all, you can't really brought a horse into the school compound. She was pretty sure there's a law written of that somewhere.

Anyway, all she wanted to say was: though she wasn't an active participant to whatever sports-related events happening in school — she wasn't complete ignorant of the matter either.

So, this shouldn't be abnormal, now should it? Staying back. It's not like she haven't stayed back before, because she did — though she never talk about _that_. Ever.

Merida shook her head and lighted up the screen to her phone, only to be greeted by a familiar alert symbol:

_You've got (1) message!_

Curiously, she pressed to show the content of her message but immediately groaned when she saw the contact's number embed on top of the screen, in thick, black strings of three alphabets, MUM, with her message full-on display on the bottom, as if mocking the living senses out of her. Merida didn't even bother to flutter her eyes and skim through the sentences, knowing full-well what her mother would say — _honestly, it's always the same dreadful thing_ — and shoved her phone away, grunting.

She also ignored the nagging voices — _that sounded an awful lot like Rapunzel, when she thought back on it_ — which were sending her harsh whispers at the back of her skull, reminding her of the _real_ reason she was here. Still at this school. After school hour.

She was convinced it was not because of a certain lean, pale-skinned, blue-eyed jock. Nope. Definitely not.

"Oh my god, I'm _so_ sorry!" Something squeaked a few feet ahead of her, ripping Merida's dazed-attention back to reality and she squinted her eyes up at the scene that was happening right in front of her.

Merida watched the papers and books spread across the floor, right by the girl's feet — what was her name again? Molly? _Milly?_ — while the girl stared up at a baffled Jack Frost, who looked as though he was put onto the centre of the world's attention without any warning whatsoever. It wasn't hard to conclude what happened: obviously the _Milly_ girl just bumped into Jack Frost when he came out of the locker room and now her stuff was all over the ground. The girl looked flustered, but there was also something... _fishy_ about her, Merida thought, wondering. She casually crossed over to where the girl was and picked up the papers, because well, though people associated her with anger management issues on more than one occasion, she was, in fact, raised to be a lady.

Her mother would have been proud.

Or not. (She would have complained that a lady should not crouch like _that_, like there was a better method of _just squatting down — _like seriously, was there?) Merida snorted inwardly.

"What are you—" _Milly_ asked, her eyes shone with bright hazel colours but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and Merida cringed, stacking the papers neatly and stood up, when her arm extended to give it to the girl and — _wait_.

The girl took the papers out of her hand with a harsh force, feigning a good sweet expression while bitterly retorted out — "Thank you." She tried to send Jack Frost another one of her all-too-shiny beams, but the boy only returned with a nod of acknowledgement, a faint smile curled the corner of his lips. "You shouldn't have."

"Ma pleasure." Merida replied, shrugging and shoved her hands in the pockets of her hoodie — she refused to believe that the cause of her sweaty hands was from the guy who's standing practically a small step away from her. _Jack Frost didn't intimidate her_. Merida felt the determination spread like wildfire across her veins. _Jack Frost got nothin' on her!_

"Yeah, whatever." Milly whispered under her breath, ran a finger over her paper and turned on her heels, finally walking away.

"_She_ certainly likes you." A rough voice commented, and Merida snapped her attention at it — finding her mind was reeled when she was met with a grinning Jack Frost, a glint of mirth danced across the features of his face and Merida wondered that maybe, she could see why everyone was always talking about this one lad.

"Well," Merida chose to reply. "That's what yer get for rattin' someone over when yer caught her slippin' the answers during the Finals."

Jack made a face, but his grin widened. "I'm impressed."

"And foilin' her evil plan to 'accidentally bumped into Jack Frost and introducin' herself and later on making babies with the lad' certainly add to the list of why—" Merida paused, for dramatic effect, and pressed on, a hint of a smirk threatened to present itself across her face, "— she certainly likes me."

"Wow, okay." Jack kind of laughed, Merida observed, but it was those kind of quiet chuckle that came out more like a chocked empty breath of air coming together, and even though he ducked his head, just slightly, Merida could very well saw the well-formed smile brightening up his pale cheeks. He tilted his head to one side when he looked back up to her, his brows quirked together, "That's an old trick, don't you think?"

Merida pursed her lips and agreed, "The oldest." She nodded her head once then, in a silent way of ending the conversation, and was about to dragged her feet away when—

"You're... DunBroch, right? Merida DunBroch?"

Merida skidded her step into a halt and squinted her eyes suspiciously at him — it was odd hearing him say her name, mainly because he wasn't an ordinary boy to _just_ _know her name_. Not like that. He was, after all, _the_ Jack Frost. "Yer know of me?"

"I'd be _crazy_ if I don't." He chuckled, still grinning coolly. Merida's got to admit — there was something about him that's fairly attractive. May it be in the way he appeared, or the way he's staring at her, or the way his cool persona beamed through — either way, Merida would probably understand why someone would have fallen for him. Why Elsa, the legendary Snow Queen, would. "You're— last year. You were competing to take a place in the _Summer Olympics_. Right?"

Merida could hear the way Rapunzel gasped in the distance and the low whistle Hiccup would have let out. _That's_ a way to start the conversation

Merida pondered, narrowing her eyes and then: "Ay."

"Yeah, that... That was the only time, for two weeks, you practiced archery in school, at the gym. Everyone was always crowding to watch you. I mean, why wouldn't they? It's not like you see _that_ everyday. I still remember it, you know — the way you never even flinch when you release the arrow. It was awesome." He stared up at her, and Merida thought she saw a hint of _admiration_ there, but that must have been the light getting in her eyes. She shook that idea away, and frowned.

"Ma friend referred to it as 'The Forbidden Subject'," she casually countered, pressing her lips together.

"Yeah? Why?"

Her eyebrows hiked together, "I didn't get in."

"I heard." Jack smoothly responded, before his eyes widened. "I mean, _not_ in the way to offend you because, personally, I think you would have been great getting in and I absolutely have no doubt about it— I've seen you practised, and I watched you nailed it every time— I'm seriously impressed. I mean, they must have been blind, or something, for giving you the red card, because you're... _awesome_. I just, I don't know if you know this, but your name isn't just _another_ name around here, you know."

"I can't say the opposite, Jack Frost." Merida gave him a once-over. "I've been told you're more than just a skinny lad."

"Skinny?" Jack chuckled, "_That's_ a first."

Merida shrugged, a small smile creeping on her lips.

"So, you've heard of me?" Jack asked, grinning proudly, a trait of mischief lining up the expressions across his face.

"Countless of stories," retorted Merida almost playfully, shrugging her shoulders. "Are yer more than the stories, Jack?"

"I don't know," he told, opening his arms wide, wiggling his brows together. "Why don't you find out?"

She snorted, rolled her eyes but couldn't quite fight off the grin that's spreading over her lips.

And then, he squinted his eyes, tilted his head a degree up, and said: "Hey, do you run?"

"What?"

"I asked if you run?"

"Run?" She thought back on this — run? Of course she ran. But not as active when she's got Angus to do it for her, mostly. Merida waited for a few seconds to pass, before: "A wee bit. Why?"

"You should join cross-country. I mean, if you're into it, that is. I'm in the team this year — thought I should give it a try, y'know?" Jack smiled warmly, shrugging one shoulder. "I don't know if they'll accept anymore people, but a few more good feet wouldn't hurt. Plus, I think it'd be nice working with you. Don't you think so?"

Ah. This must be how it felt to feel flattered. _Charming_. "Yer like to work with me?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Why not?"

Merida nearly laughed at the situation of it all — people just didn't go around claiming that they _wanted to work with her_; in fact, the only people who were willing to tolerate with her in this whole school was Hiccup and Rapunzel (yeah, _pathetic_. She knows.) — but she clammed her mouth shut and actually thought this through. _Cross-country, huh...?_

"I'm not good with people." She reasoned.

"If you're still holding a conversation with me—" Jack continued on, "Then how bad can you really be?" He smiled then, warmly, and licked his lips, "Just, give it a thought. I have to go. I'll see you around, DunBroch."

She considered the sound of her name on his tongue again and nodded: "You too, Frost."

She thought she saw him smirked.

* * *

**To**: Pretty Punzie  
_Okay, you're right. So he's not that bad_.

* * *

**From**: Pretty Punzie  
_Omg. What happened?! Did you talked to him?_

* * *

**To**: Pretty Punzie  
_Something like that_.

* * *

**From**: Pretty Punzie  
_Are you going to tell me the story?_

* * *

**To**: Pretty Punzie  
_What do you know about cross country?_

* * *

**From**: Pretty Punzie  
_I think he's in it. Why? (And why aren't you telling me ANYTHING?!)_

* * *

**To**: Pretty Punzie  
_Who's in charge?_

* * *

**From**: Pretty Punzie  
_I'm not so sure about the teacher but I think the bitter guy you sometimes smoked with (and I still think it's a horrid habit!) is the co-captain_.

* * *

_It was a phase_. Merida thought bitterly as she glared at the last text, and typed in a quick reply before she shoved the phone back into her hoodie's pocket. She dropped her shoulders a second later when she realised who _exactly_ was Rapunzel just talked about. Of course she knew him. Hans Andersen.

The 'Prince' with the bad attitude.

Merida still remember the way the evening felt across her shoulders, dragging heavy loads when he was there, hidden, by the corner. She's heard rumours of him. Various of them. And most of them weren't anything good. Some claimed he was just damaged goods, some put it into words that he was somewhat just a bitter guy going through a hard time. But to Merida, Hans was just broken — the type that was broken, and refused to be fixed. And though his personality sucked like expired milk, Merida appreciated his brutal honesty.

And that was the first day Merida did something she never expected to do — she smoked.

She didn't smoke too often then — she hated how her throat felt when she inhaled the intoxicated smoke — but she shared a few cigarettes here and then whenever she felt the familiar type of heavy loads weighing on her body. But that was five months ago. She hadn't seen the lad since the year started.

And frankly, she didn't know if she wanted to.

Merida grumbled all to herself as she spotted the familiar red-head at the corner of the field, yelling up at some poor freshman, clad in sweats and worn shirts. She cringed, and staggered. She encountered Hans on his bad days before, a couple of times actually, and she could tell you one thing: you do not go against him on those days or he will butcher you.

So Merida pondered, and waited, and considered.

_Maybe this wasn't a good idea_.

But her strong spirit won over and she found herself closing the distance between them, until she was standing there, awkwardly — no friendly greet, no _nothing_ (because Hans never appreciated nice things considering he's probably allergic to any form of positivity) — until the handsome senior narrowed his eyes dangerously towards her, in suspicious, and spoke up. "You searching for someone, Curly?"

"Actually, I am." She told, shifting from feet to feet. "You. I'm searchin' for you."

"What?"

"I need to talk to you."

...

**Next Chapter:** "Okay. Let me see you run. Right here. Right _now_." Hans released her from his strong grip, staring her down and Merida glared. _Hard_. Until she realised the dozens pair of eyes looking at them, a hush of whispers exchanged in between the soft wind. She felt her stomach twisted when she finally noticed a pair of blue eyes, glinting at the background. Merida _swallowed_.

**Author's Note: I honestly didn't expect this fic will get anymore than a couple of attentions, but clearly I was proven wrong. I thank you for taking the time to read this good-for-nothing fiction, and are kind enough to drop in more reviews. Every thoughts are highly considered and appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Teenage Dirtbag**

...

"Fuck _no_."

Merida had a feeling things it'll end up somehow like this, one way or another. Hans didn't even flinch.

But of course ― why would he? The holy 'f' word was practically his middle name. Merida however, cringed. Sure, she'd gotten a few cursed words out of her mouth once in a while, but she _was_ raised to be a lady by the end of the day, and no matter how often people carried the word into their language, it will always remained, somehow, _wrong_. In a way. Merida frowned.

And to think he would understand if she would _kindly explained her situation_.

"But―"

"I said no, Curly. No means _no_." Hans gutted out, stabbing the clipboard for one last time as he added a few more strings of alphabets before he chunked it away on the table. It thudded with a force. "Do you know what I'm running here?" He asked, when he's gotten his eyes settled back on her.

"I―"

"A cross-country team. An _excellent_ cross-country team, may I add ― the reigning champions, two years in a row. And I am planning on making this year the _third_. You see, Red, we're not playing any games here. I've worked hard ― sweat and flesh and _blood_ ― to get to where I am and I'll be damned if I let a adolescence-age crisis girl gets in my way."

"I'm not―" Merida frowned, "I'm ain't goin' through any adolescence-age crisis."

"Well, you sure as hell acting like one." Hans leaned against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look, DunBroch, this team― it's everything to me. It's the only thing I'm holding up as my own that's not attached to my surname. I'm not letting you ruin it just because you can't find yourself a boyfriend."

"I'm not― I'm not searchin' me a boyfriend!"

"I don't _care_ what's your deal here with Frost― I'm not letting you in the team."

"How do yer know I can't run?" She barked back, brows pulled together as she felt the roar of rebellion worked on her nerves, challenging any sense she had left. Hans narrowed his eyes at her.

"_Because_," he drawled. "You can't. You're not specified in this area. _I_ am."

"Yer won't even give me a chance!" Her accent challenged her as she hopped into Hans' tracks, stopping him from leaving her in the office ― refusing the knock of rejection, the bitter sting of defeat. "Yer _have_ to give ma a chance."

"A chance?" Hans considered, his whole face suddenly pinched in determination.

"Ay." Merida swallowed, "One chance. That's all I'm askin'."

"Fine," Hans grabbed her by the wrist, tugged it, forcing her to release a sharp, "Ow," while he dragged her out of the office ― his strides were large and stomping, and Merida stumbled more than once just to keep up, all at the same time struggling to have her wrist back to herself. She was sure if Hans gave out more force into his grip, it'll leave a bruise. And a bruise won't be good.

At least, not when it comes to her mother's attention.

"Let― go― of― _me!_"

"You asked me to give you a chance. Well, here's your friggin' chance." Hans stopped, and Merida only caught the knowledge that they're now at the field― the fresh smell of grasses and the loud noises colliding over yells of orders and grunts between breaths were as loud as the beats of her heart in her eardrums. "Okay. Let me see you run. Right here. Right _now_." Hans released her from his strong grip, staring her down and Merida glared. _Hard_.

Until she realised where _exactly_ she was, and the dozens pairs of eyes looking at them, hushes of whispers exchanged in between soft wind between the athletes. She was right where the cross country team were practising. _Shit_.

"―Fisher! Stephens! Pierce! Perkins!" Hans barked again, and gradually, Merida watched the girls ― all tone and muscle and equally sweaty ― came forward, their eyes searching for some explanation, but their mouths were sealed shut. No argument. No denying orders. Merida was starting to get why Hans liked being in the team― but then again, he'd probably earned it. He _was_ the reason why their cross-country team was the running champions two years in a row. Hans stared at her again, sharply, "You're running against them. My best female runners."

_Well, that isn't fair_. But Merida could only huff, glancing sideways at her competitors, the fear of doubt beginning to creep on her spine. She shivered.

"These tracks? It goes all around the field, but because you're not in the right attire― you'll only be running 'till 400 metres over there. When I release the horn, it means go."

"Go?"

"_Run_." Hans answered back, agitated, "It means you have to run. You sure you're ready for this?"

She glared at him again, and began to jog in her place. Ready? She was _born_ ready. "Of course I am."

"Well then, get on the track, Curly." Hans ordered with a clip, and Merida moved behind the group of sweaty athletes, stance ready to go, shoulders rolling and eyes set on the long tracks. _Damn_, she thought as she glanced over ― can she really do this? She chanced one final look over her shoulders, now stripping herself off from her hoodie, leaving her body only in a white tank top. 400 metres. What's the big deal?

Merida suddenly stopped when she noticed a pair of familiar blue eyes, glinting in the background ― ashen-white hair with pale skin, mouth curled and brows pulled together ― and her stomach twisted. Jack Frost.

_Whatever_. She decided, turning her attention back on the tracks. She won't let anybody distract her. Not right now.

And just before the horn blared, Merida emptied any traces of blue eyes and Hiccup's pleas and Rapunzel's manipulations.

She ran.

* * *

Half-way through the track, she gritted her teeth and felt the burning sensation spat fire on her abdomen. Something like a wild groan of a bear ripped from her throat, out of anger, out of frustration, out of fury ― she launched herself further.

* * *

Merida was going to _die_.

The lower, left part of her abdomen was seizing with an indescribable pain that would tore her muscle apart and Merida was tempted from sinking her nails into her own skin and ripped it off herself. She kept a good pace of jogging ― because she can't stop now, or she'll ultimately die for _sure_ ― but her heart was caught in her throat, and her lungs were burning her alive.

_Warm-up_. She gritted her teeth ― she should have warmed up.

"Fourth place," a familiar voice cut through her thoughts and she snapped her head quickly at that― immediately regretting it when it felt as though the world shook violently before her eyes. "Could have been third, but you stumbled on a step near the end."

"I was― _dyin'_," she spat ― still catching her breath.

"Yeah well. I'm glad you're alive _now_." Jack Frost chuckled, extending her worn hoodie ― the one she left on the ground at the beginning of the tracks ― to her, wearing an easy grin. "I knew you were a runner."

"Am― I― in― the―team?"

"Separate by two-point-three seconds from being the third, which wouldn't do." Hans came in between them, wearing a soured expression. "Unfortunately, Tooth's impressed with you. She wants you in the team. Congratulations."

"_Tooth?_" Merida finally straightened her posture, her chests till heaving ― her hands snatching her hoodie from the blue-eyed, lean athlete.

"Her name's actually Hope Toothiana Ferry, but we called her 'Tooth' for short. She's the co-captain of the team." Jack supplied, shrugging. "And I guess she likes you."

"I'm in the team then?" Merida began to grin, her eyes searching for Hans' dissatisfied ones.

"_Yes_," the older man grumbled, "As I've said, _unfortunately_. You cannot and you do not fail me, DunBroch ― or I'll _cut_ you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Ay." Merida answered and nearly rolled her eyes. Yeesh, she thought as Hans nodded once, ending the conversation ― his lips were already flinching for a cancer stick ― and turned around, walking away. Merida fitted her body into her hoodie, only to realise that after she did, she wasn't alone.

"You're―" Jack chortled, amused. "Gotta admit, never really met a girl who'd strip herself into her very-much thin tank top in front of sweaty, already-kinda-horny bunch of male teenagers ― and girls, of course."

Merida, this time, _actually_ rolled her eyes. She tugged her wild hair lose from being stuck under the hoodie. "Are yer tempted, Jack Frost?"

"Extremely so," leered Jack, almost playfully, smirking.

"Huh," Merida snorted, brushing a handful of hair from sticking to her face, ready to walk away. "Not interested."

"Wait― I'm just _kidding_." Chuckled Jack Frost, his hands brushing against the back of her arms as he tried to stop her. Merida stopped and stared at him incredulously. "I'm not _that_ kind of guy."

"I didn't say anythin'." Merida told him, frowning.

"You don't need to." Jack tried again, "Hey, come on. I'm _sorry_. If it means anything to you, I wasn't even watching when you were zipping off your hoodie."

"Yer first lie to me― I'm impressed."

"I'm _serious_."

"Why are yer here?" Merida snapped her eyes at him, blue eyes to blue eyes. "Why are yer talkin' to me?"

_Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?_

"I like you."

_What_. "What?"

Jack chuckled out a breath, brushing a hand behind his neck, "I mean ― I've always found you... sorta... _interesting_. Especially after I've seen your _superb_ skills in archery." He whistled, his eyes glinted in mirth, "Like I said before, I'm impressed. But I ― you know ― I never actually gotten around to start a conversation, which I admit, _isn't_ exactly my field of expertise, and now that I'm _actually_ holding a conversation with you... I don't know, I don't want us to be _just_ teammates."

"Yer want to be friends? With _me?_"

"If you're up to it."

Merida pondered over this ― biting her lips.

* * *

And that was, Merida decided, the most tiring, weirdest day of her entire high school lives.

It was also the day which marked the beginning of everything.

...

**Next Chapter**:

"So, are yer and Elsa datin'?" She looked over to him, over the leaves, and the twigs, and possibly, everything.

He chuckled, though he didn't meet her eyes. "Now _that's_ a loaded question."

**Author's Note: So, I'm starting their relationship with an easy friendship. I know it's a different approach from all the arguing and bantering which usually sets off [Jack and Merida's] relationship, but― I don't know. Thanks to everyone for the likes/favorites/alerts/reviews I've gotten, I appreciate every single one of them. As always, please let me know of your thoughts on this chapter and thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Teenage Dirtbag**

**...**

The DunBroch estate in America, when they first moved here, wasn't that all big ― well, to compare to their estate back in Scotland, it wasn't. But it got a nice, wide landscape as their yard where Hamish, Hubert and Harris always build up their science experiments (or an excuse to kill themselves) and for her to ride Angus and shoot an arrow.

But oddly, when she stepped down the steps to go to her favourite place in the whole DunBroch estate, she didn't feel like riding Angus, or grabbing her arrows. Instead, she felt like, well ― _running_.

Merida grabbed a worn t-shirt from her wardrobe and a yoga pants stored at the back of drawers ― her mother only arranged it there, so she wouldn't even _see_ it to consider _wearing_ it, and she _didn't_, not until now and ― she should probably start wearing proper attire now that she's on the team. _Hm_.

Shrugging the t-shirt against her body, Merida swung her door open and began heading down to her yard.

Only to quicken her pace when she heard a yelp of a rough scream pierced through the air, straight from her favourite place on the estate. She walked herself passed the backyard's door, only to see another one of her brothers' science projects left abandoned with no one in sight, and panic rose in her being.

Another voice pierced through the air again and Merida snapped her attention at a certain part where the yard met the forest ― and through squinted eyes, she saw shadows.

She sprinted right through.

And found her brothers toppling over a form, Hamish having the stranger's head between his knees, his hand planted across the stranger's cheek, forcing him against the ground, while Hubert was tangling up the stranger's feet with a rope and Harris was twisting the man's arm. Merida's mouth fell open and her brows pulled together ― _what...?_

"Please..." The stranger exclaimed, and Merida finally registered the familiar snowy hair.

"Jack!" She came forward, knees dropped next to him. "What― what's happening?"

"I got―_attacked?_" The young man in question managed, spitting out a few dirts and grass from the corner of his lips.

"Boys." Merida began, now eyeing her brothers. "Get off of _him_."

They did, simultaneously, one even wearing an amusing grin. Merida immediately helped Jack sat down on the grass and rubbed any grasses stuck to his face, privately checking for any bruises. When she confirmed that he will be okay, Merida passed a glare at her brothers ― seriously, they _talked_ about this ― and pressed her lips together, slightly ashamed, and brought her hands back to her laps, dropping her shoulders. "Are yer okay?"

"Oh, I'm _fine_. It's not like I just got _ambushed_ by curly, red-headed triplets or anything..." He rubbed the side of his jaw, shrugging.

Merida rolled her eyes inwardly and groaned. "I'm _sorry_. These are me wee little devils of brothers― Hamish, Hubert and Harris. And I know you can't really see it, but Hamish is the one who has a pimple hidden at his temple."

Hamish turned to her, wide-eyed and frowned ― _I do not!_

Merida chuckled momentarily and shook her head, "Just get back to yer projects and I'll _consider_ not telling mum you just assault ma friend."

This time it was Hubert who looked at her, his brows pulled together as he chanced a look at Jack ― _friend?_

Harris munched his lips forward, squinted his eyes at her suspiciously and shook his head ― _you don't have friends_.

"Just― can yer― _go!_" Merida told them exasperatedly, beckoning them away and they dropped their shoulders and finally did. Merida watched their figures returning back to their yard, up to their unfinished project, and once again, realised that she was, indeed not alone. She leered her eyes sideways back up to Jack, who seemed to be staring at her, sorta thoughtfully. Narrowing her eyes, she spat, "_What?_"

"Brothers." He said under his breath. "Who would have thought."

"Yeah, well." Merida shrugged her shoulders and thought of it, just for a second. Sure, nobody actually suspected that she had any siblings considering no one really ever saw her out in the public, and if they did, she'd always somehow alone, or with Hiccup and Rapunzel, and never with a family member. But, she reasoned, that's only because if she _had_ to go out, then she'd have to drive three miles just to get to civilisation and she really didn't understand all that fuss about 'hanging out' for a few hours with friends at the mall, or _Starbucks_.

She hangs out well enough with Hiccup, who lived a mile deeper into the forest, and technically was her neighbour, and Rapunzel who always made it a priority to visit them whenever she was permitted to come by her strict mother ― but that was only for a limited hour of the day, and Mrs Gothel would always call every frickin' thirty minutes just to check up on her, and later on spending at least ten minutes on the phone for Rapunzel to actually convinced her mother that _yes, I'm still with Merida and Hiccup, mother_.

Merida finally snapped her attention back at the lean athlete a few feet away from her and blurted out, "Are yer goin' to press charges against me brothers?"

Jack looked at her, wide-eyed at first and then: "What?" He breathed out a chuckle, "Of course not. They're like, what, _ten?_ I'm not going to― _press_― I'm not going to do that. Have faith in me, Merida. _Please_." Merida almost scoffed, while he continued, his eyes searching for hers. "And plus, they weren't technically, doing anything wrong, besides from the fact they almost _murder_ me, because well ― I'm actually trespassing."

And then, slowly, it sunk. He _was_ trespassing.

He was in the DunBroch estate, which was three miles away from the nearest 7-Eleven there was and― _what was he doing here?_

"Are yer stalkin' me?" She regretted the words the instant it came out of her mouth.

"I― uh― I..." Jack finally sighed. "Kinda? I guess? I don't know."

"Yer don't know?"

"I don't know― I mean, I would have called you, if I have your phone number, which I _don't_, because apparently you're Leonardo DiCaprio and your phone number belongs to the government and every person I asked _don't_ have your phone number although I suspect Hans do, but he _refused_ to give me and told me to 'go home, Frost and read a book' and I wasn't able to track either of your friend― Rapunzel and... _Harold_, was it? And here I am."

Merida raised both of her brows.

Jack continued, shrugging more. "I get your address from the office and they _do_ have your phone numbers, except it's your _parents'_ phone numbers and though I was desperate, I wasn't _that_ desperate and I know it's kinda wrong, but I've always wanted to run here, you know? I didn't know it was your family's land, of course, but when I did... I don't know. I just― well, I _ran_."

He looked around, his eyes observing the tall trees which worshipped the sun and he grinned. "Man, you got some real, good scenery here, I could tell you that."

She watched him instead ― taking in all the little lines on his face, the way his eyes changed as amazement showered over it, and his lips grew from a small, hint of what-must-be a smile, into a full-on grin. She sucked a short, gasp of oxygen in before she let her gaze fell into _his_ line of sight, spotted a few hummingbirds passing by, singing a tune. "It's Hiccup."

"What?"

She sighed and tugged on a handful strain of hair. "Hiccup. Harold's just a fancy name to go with a fancy family-line he's in. But he likes to be called Hiccup. And yer right― not a lot of people have me phone number, and I wouldn't want them to. Hans have it, but he's a prick and finds joy in watching yer suffer, so now that yer went through all of that trouble, he probably will sleep better tonight." Merida passed him a blank look, her lips fell into a straight line. "And yer lucky it's me brothers who got yer limbs all tangled up instead of the dogs Dad trained. Yer shouldn't have ran here."

"I was―" Jack looked at the ground, extending his hands behind his back and leaning into it. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Wait― yer _ran_ here?" She asked again, only then realising the meaning behind the word.

"Yeah. I did." Jack appeared confused at her question, a small crease deepened in between his brows.

"_All_ the way here?"

"I parked my car at the edge of the forest, and yeah― all the way here."

"It's three miles!" Merida pressed on, surprised. "You ran _three_ miles here."

"I did? I... I didn't notice."

"What?" She whispered, and fell in a deeper confusion. How could someone not noticed if they've run three miles? She would.

Jack chuckled then, an amused grin lighting up his face. "I guess I just got lost in the tracks. Now that you've mentioned it― I'm sorta pretty beat up. Plus, I think your brother did a _fantastic_ job at twisting my arm."

Merida winced at that, "Did me brothers pulled a muscle?"

"Nah. Maybe bruised it. A little bit." He moved his arms in circular motions, hitting his elbows up in the empty air. "Please don't tell anybody a ten-year-old just bruised me."

"They're _nine_." Merida rolled her eyes, scoffing. "And yer secret is safe with me, Frost ― if it hurts yer reputation so much."

Jack chuckled again, ducking his head lower. "I was just _joking_."

"You do that a lot," Merida answered back dryly, pulling herself up to stand and stretched. "Yer want to go somewhere?"

"Does that place have fresh water?"

Merida stared at him with one brow raised, actually amused ― because _really_, a day ago he was just the charming 'Jack Frost' that everyone fussed about to her, and now he's the sweaty, beaten up guy that probably had a bruise on his arm because of her nine-year-old brother and was begging her for water ― she shook her head a second later, shaking the image away, and placed her fingers in her mouth― and whistled. _Loudly_.

When she _knew_ she caught her brothers' attention, she signalled them the familiar hand sign which usually meant the other wanted water and got a signal back almost immediately ― _okay_.

"C'mon." Merida beckoned, looking down at him. "Me brothers will show up with the water. Can yer get up?"

"Yeah..." Jack tilted his chin up at her, his expression suggested that he was figuring out her plan. "You're not planning on kidnapping me, are you?"

"I don't know." Merida smirked, and held her arms wide ― just like he did, yesterday. "Why don't yer find out?"

And for whatever reason, he grinned and fell into steps.

* * *

"Is that..."

"A treehouse?" Merida laughed, looking at his shocked face. "Ay. First thing me brothers and Dad built when we moved here. I helped in too, but not a lot..." She trailed off and left the reason hanging in the atmosphere ― _because her mother wouldn't let her_ ― and tried to keep a neutral expression, though she suspected she may had winced at the end of her sentences. "It's not that great―"

"Not that great?" Jack immediately scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's a _treehouse_. An actual treehouse. A house that is on a _tree_."

Merida hid her widening grin, and came forward to climb the stairs. "Ay. C'mon now then. If yer so excited."

"Excited? Hell yeah. Let's conquer the frickin' thing." Jack exclaimed with a thrill heavy in his tone, and Merida breathed out a chuckle and nearly shake her head because of that. He was almost like a child stuck in a young man's body ― all giddy and a secret wish to just have a good fun. Her thoughts of him were interrupted when she heard him voiced out, "Man, even the stairs looked better at the ones in my home."

Merida snorted, "Now _that's_ a lie."

"Yeah, okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but seriously― _look at this!_ The stairs are actually decent-looking and looked stable, and that must have not been easy to achieve with manual working, unless of course you actually _do_ have extra, professional hands helping around."

"Nope." Merida answered with proudness beaming off of her face. "All me brothers' and father's hard work― all of their energy, blood and sweats poured over this old thing." Her fingers traced the railing, a type of serenity crossed her features as she recalled her family. "Hamish, Hubert and Harris liked to build stuff up, and when they did the treehouse, it's... well, yer could tell they're very dedicated to it."

"I could see," Jack intoned, still observing about as they both finally stepped into the treehouse ― which sometimes appeared more like a place where tourists would go to take a picture from another angle as the concept laid out to be an open-air concept with no walls, but railings surrounding the treehouse. There's a few old books stacked besides the trunk which the treehouse were built around, and a few more of her brothers' abandoned projects lying around.

"Sometimes I came here to read." Merida started, "Or just― get away. But I didn't come here as often as I'd like to."

"You don't?" He went over to the railings and placed his hands over it.

Merida shook her head and slowly followed his lead, "Yer see that hill over there? _That's_ where I always go when I need a place to think."

"You go way up to _that_ hill?"

"Near the peak. Usually with Angus."

"Angus?"

"My stallion. One of the things me mother allowed to bring from Scotland when we moved here."

"A horse. Wow." Jack whistled again, his eyes sparked with amazement. "You're really the definition of 'go big, or go home', aren't you?"

"What?" Merida frowned― though she had lived a considerable amount of years in America, some references of them still caught her off guard.

"Nothing," He chuckled, now turning around so the lower part of his back were leaned against the railings. "I'm impressed."

"You've said that."

"And I'll say it again."

Suddenly, a familiar bird call was heard and Merida looked down, to realise her brothers were at the bottom, tossing two water bottles around. One of them gave her the signal to catch, and the others threw. Pulling on every concentration into her focus, she managed to catch one of the bottles in her hand, while the other went passed by her and hit the floorboard. "Hamish!" She yelped out, "One at a time, will ya'?"

The boys snickered and were quickly gone at the next second.

Merida was picking up the other bottle when she heard Jack asked, coming forward, "Your brothers... do they―" He scratched the back of his neck, appearing uncomfortable. "―well, _talk?_"

Her expression faltered, just slightly. "Ay, of course they talk. Just not a lot." She pondered on, just for a little bit. "They usually make it up with explodin' things just before dinner."

He breathed out a short, curt chortle at that, and looked away, catching one bottle from her.

She narrowed her eyes up to her, and felt the curiosity eating on her sense. After long last, she asked: "Are yer and Elsa datin'?" She looked over to him, over the leaves and the twigs, and possibly everything ― watched as he stared at her question, and the lines on his face suggested how he was definitely caught off guard. She didn't break her posture and awaited for an answer.

When he finally responded, it wasn't at all satisfying. "Now _that's_ a loaded question."

"It's a question."

"I don't―" He caught himself and tried again. "I don't think we're up to _that_ level of friendship to talk about those things."

"Levels?" Merida frowned again.

"Yeah, you know― like _stages_ of friendship. First, know their names. Second, find common interest. Third... You know, all of _those_ things." That's weird. If that was how someone defined a friendship, then she definitely did not establish a start of a good relationship with Hiccup since she punched the guy the first time she met him. "I mean, I don't know. If it escapes your notice, I'm not really... I guess, _have_ stable friends before."

She re-thought of his sentences. "You? Mr. Popular?"

"I can go around, yeah. But have you seen me with a constant friend― like you had in Rapunzel and the Hiccup guy?" He paused, and stared at her seriously before she realised that _yeah, he was right_. He was always surrounded by people ― but he never really _stuck_ with one person for too long; always walking the hallways by his own, always seemingly looked as though he's somewhat a private guy beneath all of that easiness and openness.

Jack Frost was suddenly a whole new person.

Merida exhaled and pushed back a handful of her wild hair back, her shoulders was suddenly weighed down with the burden of this sad realisation. She wondered how it was to feel like, knowing everybody knows your name, but not your true story.

"I mean, I don't even know your favourite colour." He suddenly said.

She raised a brow at him ― _favourite colour?_

He frowned up at her, dropping his shoulders. "What?"

With rough calculation, Merida sighed, and dropped down on the floor, sitting indian-style. She propped her elbow up against her knees and toppled her chin on the base of her palm, looking up at him. "Okay," she started. "Jack Frost, what is yer favourite colour?"

This time, he looked amused, looking down to her. "_What?_" He asked, "I was just― kidding around, you know."

"Well, I'm not." She shrugged. "What's yer favourite colour."

"Oookay then." He went along, now gradually descending himself to sit across from her. "My favourite colour is..." He squinted his eyes for a second, in a thoughtful manner, a slow hum emitted from the back of his throat as he did so, when he finally straightened his pose seven seconds later and said: "You know what, I don't have a favourite a colour."

"What?"

"Yeah. I mean, why does someone have a favourite colour? Every colour's amazing on its own. I don't need to pick one."

"But― okay― what about yer most likeable colour? Yer must have one you prefer than most."

"I don't. I'm cool with all types of hues."

"What about blue? You're constantly wearin' that."

"What― no, I don't."

"Of course ya do. Yer wearin' blue _now!_"

"It's just a coincidence."

"Yer like blue."

"It doesn't mean anything. I can like every colour in the whole world. They're all beautiful." He pressed on, looking smug. "What about you? With all these arguing, you must have a favourite colour. Wait, let me guess― red?"

Merida suppressed an eye-roll. "It's _green_, ya idiot."

"Green?"

"Ay. Like forest green." She looked around, at the tall trees and the hanging leaves, acting like a shield. "I've been goin' into woods ever since I could remember. Green... is a big part of ma life."

"I can see why." Replied Jack, and she watched him from the corner of her eyes.

For the next few minutes, Merida remained in silence, drowning herself in her thoughts. Jack Frost was not what she expected― all of his movements, all of his charms; though it looked as though he was oozing the typical popular characteristics of a happy, smooth character, in truth, he was not. In fact, for the most part, he seemed thoroughly _genuine_ in his every small smiles, rolls of the shoulders, the pauses in his words.

It was like she was meeting with a completely new stranger.

Merida finally sighed, and pushed herself up to her feet. "We need to go. It's late, and yer should probably be goin' home."

"You're right." He stood up as well, brushing any dust which managed to catch up in his shorts.

She nodded, "I'll send you to yer car. Wouldn't want yer running another three miles now, would we?"

And then, just when Merida was detached with the idea of the ever-so-charming Jack Frost, he tilted his head to the side and _smirked_. "Just to spend another day with you? It'll be worth it."

Merida didn't missed the immediate thought which crossed her mind: _damn_.

* * *

"So..." He began, keeping up with her pace. "Can I have your phone number?"

...

**Author's Note: So, this chapter is a little longer than the previous ones but I like it. I think. I also made Jack a little awkward because in my opinion, in this story at least, he's the type that never really has any best friends sticking around. I think I'll dwell more in this area in the future, because we'll definitely be unfolding some background stories on both characters. And I don't know if I made Merida a little OOC, but get this: she's really the same stubborn, hot-headed princess we all know and love, but in this case, she's just trying to figure out what she's going to do with _Jack Frost_ because well, she's awkward too.**

**Anyways, I'm sending my love to all of you for all the fav/alerts/reviews. Once again, drop me in of your opinion and tell me what you think! (And guys, if you have any question or also an extra opinion, please don't hesitate to contact me through my Tumblr ask: puckering-gustin. [The link to my Tumblr is on my fanfic profile]) Thank you!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Teenage Dirtbag**

**...**

That Monday morning was one of the weirdest mornings she ever went through.

First of all― she came to school without anything to be upset over. In fact, all through the morning where she usually rolled her eyes and got scolded by her mother was filled with her spacing out and thinking things through. She could almost hear Hiccup's rational voice hissing, _priorities, Merida, priorities!_ before it was replaced by _which is why you should definitely prioritise my need of you to seduce Jack Frost_―

Of course, she wasn't _seducing_ Jack Frost― because Merida didn't _seduce_ people.

She was good at spitting her words back at people's face until she was sent into the Principal's office and into her Mum's infinite list of disappointments. But she hadn't done that lately because she struck a deal with Dad to _not_ get into any trouble when the school started in return for a new set of arrows and bow. And perhaps a few new set of clothes with _her_ choice of choosing.

Anyway. Back to the point. Monday.

_It was weird_, Merida thought, when she stepped into the hallway, fell into the familiar dragging steps of the crowd, sharing the same short-Monday depression everyone seemed to carry. All at once, the realisation that the weekend was over was not a news which settled nicely. Every week. Merida sighed, but her intention to deepen her frown was gone when she noticed Rapunzel was already waiting for her by the locker.

She was about to wave back as the first form of greeting when her line of sight fell back, to the lockers a few steps down the hallway, and she spotted it: the famous white strings of hair. And grinning faces. And teasing eyes. And― _is he blushing?_

Well, at least it was clear that he was flirting.

With the Snow Queen.

She guessed she's seen this before, except she's never really _taken notice_ of it. It was kind of like those moments, you know? When you know it has been happening for a while, and it wasn't until someone brought it up to your attention that you were finally like, _yeah, wait, I know about that_. And now she's actually seeing it ― _actually seeing it_ ― as Elsa was at her locker, and she was tilting her head up to Jack, her soft expression lightened up with a smile as the young man must threw in a joke, or his opinion, with a lazy grin, their eyes never left each other.

It was _weird_.

Merida actually felt a crawl creeping up her spine because― first, she has never understood the art of flirting. Second, why _were_ they flirting?

It was only when she was just a couple of steps away from her own locker that Jack lifted his chin up, as though he knew someone was watching him, and met her eyes. Almost immediately, his lips spread into a wide smile and he waved his hand all casually, right up to her. Merida watched how Elsa noticed Jack's abrupt movements and spun her head to watch _who_ he was waving to while Merida tried to keep a casual face of her own, nodding and awkwardly waving back.

"What's going on?" Rapunzel's voice cut through, her slender fingers catching the back of Merida's arms and pulling the red-headed Scot to the side. "Why is Jack waving at you? What happened? Why aren't you telling me anything?"

"Rapunzel." Merida finally responded, turning to the blond. "I've only been truly awake for one second. Could yer please―"

"Merida!" Rapunzel spat her textbook against her arms, forcing the Scot to yelp.

"_Rapunzel!_" This would probably be one of those moments where Hiccup, granted if he was here, would mentioned of their abusive tendency in their trio-relationship. "This is ma good arm― ye know that!"

"I'm sorry," squeaked the blond before she shook her head, her small face pinched in hidden determination. "You need to tell me what happened."

"Okay. But yer have ta' promise not to tell Hiccup―"

"Oh my god, did you seduce Jack―"

"I did _not_ seduce Jack Frost―"

"Then what did you do?" Rapunzel quickly asked, curiosity dripped from her question. "You didn't answer any of my text."

"And I'm sorry. I just― got caught up."

"Is it your mom again?" The blond cringed when she blurted that question out, and Merida knew she only did that whenever she wasn't particularly comfortable with what she had to say, or ask― and as usual, the topics of any of their parents weren't usually of the favourable ones. But they've shared still with one another of what happened, usually more of Rapunzel venting out about her dear mother (and quickly regretting it afterwards), Merida coming in second among the three of them when she expressed her outlet about her own mother, and Hiccup the last when he would sometimes sighed out about his father, The Vast.

Merida shook her head ― a rare occasion ― and let her lips fell into a straight line when her fingers worked on her lockers, "No. I just... It was, well― it's Jack Frost."

"Wait, what? I'm so confused." The blond frowned.

"I―" She sighed. "Friday. When I was staying back, I... may have tried out for the cross-country team― and got in."

"What?!"

"Shh―_listen!_" Merida hushed her friend.

"Is it because of Jack? I knew he was in the cross-country team this year― well, I knew he was _planning_ on joining it because that was what he said when we talked earlier in the semester. Remember? The first day? You and Hiccup were late to school?"

"It wasn't _intentional_." It wasn't. Really. "And yeah. Ya could say that. Actually, it's a long story but _he_ was the one who suggested for me to join."

"Was that why you asked me who was running it?"

"Hans sent his regards, by the way." Merida responded dryly. "I had to run 400 metres on the tracks just to proof to that arsehole that I could run. I was dyin' half-way through. I swore on ma great Grandnana he's goin' to pay for it one day, that prick!"

"So what― you've got into the cross-country, and then what happened?"

"It's honestly a long story―"

"What's a long story?"

Merida turned around just as Rapunzel's eyes lit up, "Hiccup."

"Hey, you guys. I hope you're having terrible Mondays too, because if not then it'll totally suck for me to be in this position all alone." Hiccup yawned, and scratched his temple, before he glanced at Rapunzel. "And since I know Rapunzel probably had more positive energy stored in the morning than the whole human population existed in this torturous school, I'll have to force my case upon you, my good lady―" Hiccup poked Merida's side, grinning sleepily back when she turned to give him a raised eyebrow. "I hope your morning sucks."

"Thank you." Merida responded, "Although unfortunately, Mr Haddock―"

"_The Third_."

"Whatever." Merida snapped quickly. "My Mondays are actually finer than usual."

"_What?!_" Hiccup exclaimed tiredly, leaning against the locker next to hers. "That's a first."

Merida just shrugged more as a respond when she busied herself in the last-minute of note-taking from the locker ― _homework unfinished!_ ― while still, at the same time, listening in as Rapunzel asked, "What happened, Hiccup?"

"Mondays. Is there supposed to be anymore explanation than that?" Hiccup groaned, thudding the back of his head against the locker and Merida narrowed her eyes briefly, amused. Hiccup was right: if it wasn't much of a weird morning, she would have been joining him right now, leaning back against the lockers and questioning why Monday needed existing. Instead, she tapped her pen and twirled it between her finger, nudged the brunet with her elbow and pointed out, "How do ye do this?"

Hiccup leaned in from her left, and Rapunzel on her right and though Merida knew it was ridiculous, she couldn't help feeling as though her level of intelligence had just been challenged. On her right, she had one of the honour students checking up her messy handwritings, drawling up all over her notes, on the other was the guy who made _smart_ seemed like the second easiest thing next to breathing.

Merida wasn't _stupid― _well, she liked to think she wasn't. But she wasn't _intelligent_ either. And she didn't favour studying as much as Rapunzel did, or treated studying as a hobby like Hiccup did ("I don't know," she remembered him shrugging, "It's the only thing I don't suck at. So, I do it. It usually killed time.") but she knew a thing or two as well.

And plus, as Rapunzel pointed out, she's a fast learner.

"You just have to inserted it right here and―"

"Yeah," she cuts him off, eyes frowned and chin nodding as she pulled up her calculator from her bag, punching in the numbers. "I got it. Thanks."

"You should get the answer―"

"Like this?" She pointed towards the number which came across as result, and Hiccup nodded, satisfied, and Merida went back to writing on her answer, her blue pen dotted across the page. Rapunzel beamed by her side, now turning back to Hiccup and started on a conversation of a mythical creature she read over the weekends, and Hiccup responding something which went along the line of, "Yeah, I think I've heard of it too."

The bell rang soon enough and Hiccup groaned again, said his peace and walked away, Rapunzel trailing behind. "You're not coming, Merida?"

"Don't you have Sandy? It's right on our way."

"Ye go first," Merida waved them off nonchalantly, her blue eyes still trained on the last question in the book. "I still have one more..."

"Okay then."

"Just," Rapunzel chirped, "Don't be late, okay?"

Merida hummed back, jabbing up her fingers across the calculator, frustration came like a low growl at the back of her throat. _C'mon_, her mind rebelled. _She's so close_. She dropped the pen and grabbed a mechanical pencil, her calculations lied out on the side of the note as she scribbled again of her calculations, frowning even more so. _Eighteen?_ _Is that the answer?_ _Couldn't be the answer_._ Supposed to be two. How did it get so far from the answer...?_

She punched into the calculator again, this time even more furiously, until it resulted with the answer she wanted. She beamed.

And her phone suddenly rang.

She pulled it up from back pocket and frowned at the caller ID ― _UNKNOWN_ ― and munched on her lips. She ran her thumb across the old screen, decided on answering it, "DunBroch, Merida."

"Frost, Jackson."

"Jackson?"

"Turn around."

She did, her blue pen lied in between her fingers and one hand holding up her worn phone by her hair. Just a few lockers and steps away from her, between the small amount of students still lingering by, was Jack Frost, his hand holding up his own phone, a smirk splattered across his face. In his blue eyes were glee, and though Merida resisted it, her lips _did_ turned up into a small smile. "I didn't know ye name is Jackson."

"Not a lot of people do," He shrugged, still on his phone. "Guess _Jack Frost_'s just catchy."

She shook her head, rolled her eyes, but her smile did widened. "What do ye want?"

"Oh c'mon, can't a guy just talk to his friend? Is that really a crime?"

"No. It's creepy. Ye talkin' to me over the phone when ye're literally in front of me."

"Well, I wanna give a shot at being cliché― you know, like in one of those romantic comedy movies?" He grinned more.

"Ye an idiot, ye know that?"

"I prefer 'handsome', 'charismatic' and 'awesome' but I guess that works out too," He chuckled, his white teeth lining up to match the merriment dancing across the pale spots of his cheeks, and the image of him being twisted on the forest floor in her yard yesterday seemed like a dream, because there he was ― matching himself in an everyday clothes, free of sweats and dirts to his skin, eyes glinting and his white hair gleaming more than the dull hallways of the high school. "So― hard at work, I see."

Merida narrowed her eyes at him, and clicked her tongue. "Ye said ye and Elsa aren't dating."

"We aren't." He told, and there's hesitation in his tone.

She pondered over this. "But?"

"But what?" He played pretence. "We're just that. Seriously. What's with your _obsession_ over this girl?"

"I'm not― _obsessed_," she rolled her eyes and turned back to her locker, where the last question still left without an answer. She dipped her pen and wrote the answer satisfyingly. "Curious, is all. Ye don' go around everyday watchin' the famous athlete tryin' to woo the Snow Queen."

"And you're jealous," she could feel him coming up behind her, and the sound of his phone clicking. Her own phone beeped ― CALL ENDED ― and she shoved it back in her back pocket. Her shoulders tensed a little bit at the knowledge of him approaching closer, but she's sure her hair hid it from view.

"Jealous?" That word rolled off her tongue. "I barely know ye, Jack Frost."

"Yeah, well, a stranger could fall for a stranger right this very second. Knowing someone doesn't really count."

"It's like hearin' a stalker defendin' himself." Merida shut her book, grabbed it and dropped it in her bag before she closed her locker, her calculator left in her palm. "Don' ye have a class ye need to attend to, Frost?"

"Don't we all?" He started walking with her, still grinning. "You're coming to the practice after right?"

"Practice?"

"Didn't Hans texted you?"

"Oh. That's what the message is about." She shrugged a little guiltily. "I thought he just needed an extra hour of harassment so I didn't bother checkin' the prat's message."

"That sounds like him." Jack hummed thoughtfully, nodding.

She smiled, just a little. "Ye comin'?"

"Yeah, of course I'm coming. I actually like the team." He told, nudging her playfully. "And it doesn't hurt that I'm the second-best male runner."

"Second?"

"Next to Hans, of course." He told her, "I mean, have you seen him run before? I know he doesn't hold the best social reputation out there but that man can definitely run when he wants to. It's like― he's all up in your ass about how you annoy the life out of him and how he wants to skin everyone that's breathing around him, but the next thing you know, he's just _gone_."

"That's an interestin' imagination. _Skinning_ everyone." She deadpanned, but didn't disagree.

"He's your friend?"

"Who?"

"Hans. He talks to you with less respect than the other members, and, I don't know, you don't look like you're going to climb up and slit his throat anytime soon. And you mentioned him like he's nothing big before."

"We're... _acquainted_."

"Acquainted?"

"Ay. Like you and me, eh?"

Jack actually paused in his steps. "Acquainted? You and me?" He asked, and suddenly brought his hand up to his chest, feigning hurt. "And here I thought you were ready to meet the parents." Merida rolled her eyes, chuckling out an empty snort. "But what about the baby?!"

"What?" A couple of voices murmured and Jack spun wide-eyed, as if finally realising they weren't alone in the hallway.

"I'm not― we're not― I'm not pregnant." She stuttered out, glaring at the pale-skinned boy in front of her, before she daringly took his wrist and led him away from the scene. Catching up with her quick strides, she could hear Jack suppressing a chuckle ― and she could just _paint out_ the grin he's wearing on his lips. Bastard. "Yer an idiot."

"And you're no fun," he said, when they stopped, already turning into one lane. She glanced at the watch he's wearing.

"I'm late. _Shit_." She lifted her head up, momentarily, glaring at him. "It's all yer fault, ye little cow."

"I'm a― _what?_" He grinned even more.

"Ye heard me," she spat, turning on her heels and picked up her pace. He jogged along besides her, and Merida almost paused ― narrowing her eyes up at him. "Honestly Jack, don't ye have any class?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "It's my free period."

"Well, okay." She breathed heavily once through her nostrils, "Don't ye have _other_ friends ye could bother?"

"No. Not really." He told, and Merida almost cut-short her walk when she detected there's no humour to his eyes as he said it. _That's right_. Mr. Friendless But Popular. How could she ever forget? "What class are you having again?"

"Sandy."

"Sandy?"

"Ay."

"Oh, he's a cool guy."

_What?_

Jack held his hand up, noticing her strange glance. "My uncle's close to him, okay. He comes over for game's night, like, all of the time."

"Yer Uncle?"

"Yeah." He stopped suddenly, and looked down at his watch. "Wait. I have somewhere I need to go. I'll see you at practice, alright?"

And before Merida could say anything ― _could even chock out a breath_ ― he spun around, turned on his ankle and moved away. Just like that. And she was left there, alone and confused, at the almost-empty hallway; the buzz of her phone in her back pocket nearly went unnoticed.

* * *

**From**: The Dragon Tamer, Hiccup  
_What in the flipping name of Odin, Merida. I just saw you with Frost. I NEED ANSWERS. TEXT BACK._

* * *

**From**: The Dragon Tamer, Hiccup  
_AND ARE YOU PREGNANT WITH THAT OLD MAN WINTER'S CHILD?! WTF_

* * *

Against all odds, she sighed ― and imagined bright blue eyes teased.

...

**Author's Note: I don't know what I'm doing. All feedbacks are appreciated. Thanks for the read (even though it's kinda crappy).**


	6. Chapter 6

**Teenage Dirtbag**

**...**

It wasn't like she _meant_ to avoid Hiccup― it was just that she _needed_ to.

It was hard enough that the school was whispering about how Jack Frost had impregnated her, but to deal with Hiccup? Now, that's an _entire thing_ altogether. And Merida preferred to handle her cases one moment at a time. Or at least, she tried to. Never really had a good luck in that area. She decided she'll face him later. Maybe. If they can still wait that matter out, then why not?

She really didn't need Hiccup jabbing on about Jack Frost to her face. She was pretty sure he'd amounted to his quota over Frost ever since he's known of his existence when that guy started hanging around Elsa so much. She never really understood why everyone ― particularly Hiccup ― hung up on the Snow Queen for so long, besides from the obvious reason.

And Rapunzel― why weren't the girl saying anything?

Her phone beeped again, and she knew it was one of her friends trying to catch up with her but Merida chose to ignore it. _Just a minute_. She drew several outtake of shaky breaths out. Just a few more minutes, and maybe her courage will come and befriended her again.

Her tongue clicked, almost out of mock. Almost.

* * *

It was impressive how she has managed to avoid her friend, especially Hiccup considering that guy can hunt when he needed to.

Training started nearly immediately, and because she's just been tip-toeing ― practically _dancing_ ― around school so she wouldn't bump into either of her (only) friends, she found herself being in the locker room earlier than the rest. She sat there, for a couple of minutes, just stared at the floor, with her shirt tossed aside, half-naked, her wild hair brushed and swayed behind her. She sighed.

"You look pitiful." A complete set of voice almost made her jump, but she knew better.

She glared. Hans smirked; his mouth quirked in that annoying way he did, rolling his eyes as though waving her off insignificantly.

"This is the girl's locker room." She pointed out, clearly irritated.

"I'm completely aware."

"And I'm half-naked," she didn't move her position, but she suddenly felt how tight it was her bra strap was clinging onto her skin. She hid her cringe.

Hans' eyes shifted briefly down her body, leeringly, until he passed a look elsewhere, looking more comfortable than he should be. He kinda snorted, but she's not sure. "Never escape my knowledge." He noted, his tone devoid emotion. He paused, his nose suddenly scrunched up when he furrowed his brows, just lightly.

She frowned. "What?"

"You and Frost―" He didn't even finish his sentence when she cuts him off, snapping.

"I'm not pregnant." She hunched her shoulders, "If yer here to cut me off the team, then it's just not yer day. I'm not pregnant. I'm not even havin' a relationship with the lad!"

He appeared grim, "You don't _have_ to be in a relationship to produce offspring―"

"Just stop, okay? I don't want to talk about ma non-existant child. I'm here to practice."

"I knew you weren't pregnant." He replied back, coolly.

"Oh," she scoffed. "Ye do?"

"You _couldn't_ be. You're too smart for that."

"Too smart, huh?"

"At least smart enough to get her priorities straight." He blew out, and she imagined a puff of smoke escaped through his lips. He must have just taken a quick smoke. He kind of smelled like it. "But dumb enough that she's still here, talking to me."

She lets a beat passed and picked up her attire. "Yer not _that_ bad, Wasterguard."

"I'm not good either." He shrugged his shoulders, and made a nod of his head that signalled the end of _that_ conversation. Hans leaned casually against the locker, and started again. "So, what's exactly are you doing with Frost?What was it the word you used again― _distracting_ _him?_"

"So, ye _do_ listen."

"I pretend like I don't. Gets people off my back." Hans shrugged again, and Merida thought: that's probably something he would do. He flicked his wrist. "Is he distracted? Frost?"

"I don't know," Merida answered honestly, turning to him. "He's just― he just wants a friend, I guess."

"He's lonely?"

"Surprisin'ly so."

He scoffed, and rolled his eyes. "_I'm_ not surprised." Merida restrained herself from crossing the room to just spat him at the back of his head for sounding arrogant, not to mention― _rude_. He always did this, didn't he? Undermining everyone else's roles and suppressing the fact that he's much more intelligent than the rest of them, which he might be (and _appeared_ to be), though he held one of the worst academic records in the school. But that was only because he refused to do most of them, only staring at the paper and ridiculed the teacher with noting down a whole script from any Shakespeare's play as his answer instead, insisting that the topic he received was a nine years old's homework on a Christmas break. "It's a little too obvious, don't you think? He's always sticking around with that... what's the name again? The blonde with the― the horrendous nickname. Something Arctic or Ice, or something."

"Elsa Arandelle? The _Snow Queen?_"

"I knew it was something related to ice and such." He snapped his fingers, beamed in delight that he's figured it out. "Yes, that girl. I'm guessing she's the subject of his affection?"

Merida snorted and hiked one eyebrow. "Ye really don't know her?"

He rolled his eyes, and she could almost see the one-word sentence crossing over his mind: _pointless_. "What for? She doesn't benefit me at all. Sure, she's a catch, but she won't be of any good to me in the future."

"Yer terrible." She responded.

"I'm _realistic_. I'm not wasting my time ― especially my Senior Year ― trying to get to know people who, in thirty years from now, won't even care to contact me, unless of course, they're broke and they want to take advantage of our 'so-called' friendship to get a job from me that he'll probably screw over. It's ridiculous. Plus, I really like my position as the outcast. People don't come to me when they have problems."

_Well, who do ye go to when ye have a problem?_

"Whatever, Hans." She decided to say. "Now can ye _please_ go? I need to change."

"I thought you like the audience." He teased.

"Get out," she ground.

"_Fine_." He dropped his shoulders and began to turn on his heels. Until― "And DunBroch?"

"Ay?"

"I'm glad you're not pregnant." He hummed. "You're actually a good runner."

But Merida? She smirked, almost scoffing. Because if Hans was flattering her, it could only mean _one_ thing: he wants to make her suffer on the tracks. And he knew she knew it too, because when the bell rang and his shadows left the girl's locker room, the Scot could still feel his evil chuckle shook through her ribcages, twisting on her nerves.

She smirked _wider_.

* * *

"So, are you ready for the meet?"

Jack came to her side just when she finished stretching, her eyes were observing the field. The cold autumn air sent chills up to her bone, but she didn't shiver. When she faced him, he was wearing a grin. "Meet?"

"Yeah. This Saturday. Your first official match. Are you excited?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I've never done this before."

"Neither do I. But that's the thrill of it, you know? Prepping yourself up 'till the last minute, and then you're just― you're out there. Showing everyone what you got, what they've been missing on. Don't take this the wrong way, because, I'm not like, pressuring you or anything. I just, I don't know. That's the only reason I keep changing from one sport to another. It's _fun_."

"Change? One sport to another?"

"Yeah," Jack started stretching, twisting his limbs. "Freshman year, I'm in the soccer team. Sophomore year, I joined lacrosse. This year, I decided on cross-country. And in between all of that, I very much enjoy playing hockey." He chuckled, then leaned and whispered, "Normally with the school's opposing team, but don't tell on me." He winked. "Do you ever feel like that? You know― like, when you're doing what you love, you just― _you came to life?_"

Merida blinked, and thought back about how many time she pulled her bow and released her arrow― the rush of oxygen when it fell back into her lungs just as she _knew_ she'd hit her target. She dipped her head in a slow nod, "Ay. I do."

"Right?" Jack chuckled then, ruffling his unruly platinum blond hair. He nudged her by the elbows. "That's what I believe in, you know? Doing what you love. So, every day you live is actually worth living for."

He passed a look towards the field, and Merida thought she saw something more than she really wanted to see. But that moment passed soon enough when Toothiana called out for Jack, Hans staggering close, his face in that pinched expression when he's calculating out something that was actually worth his time. Jack chanced a quick "I'll be right back" to her before he jogged himself to the co-captains, and only to be left with Hans after Tooth said her peace and patted Jack supportingly on the arm.

Merida stretched more, just for good measure, and dragged her attention away.

"Hi."

She hiked her brows at the line of brilliant white teeth, and Merida hesitated before smiling back. "Yes?"

"How are you holding up, Merida?" Tooth asked, beaming. "I hope you aren't _that_ nervous even though your first meet _is_ this Saturday. You're a good one, which was why I wanted you in the team. Hans has been obsessed about reigning us champions since he took over the team, which is super annoying, but he _is_ a good leader by the end of the day. He's straight-to-the-point, and knows what to do when he's needed. So, I apologise in advance if he's being hard on you. He does that sometimes. Most of the times. _Pressuring_ people. Look―" Tooth pointed out towards a scowling Hans, who had one edge of the clipboard he was holding pointing out to Jack's chest. "He's pressuring Jack right now."

_Jack must be extremely good then_, Merida reasoned all on her own. "Don't worry," she told Tooth, bringing her back to the conversation. "I can handle Hans."

"I'm glad to hear that." Tooth clapped her hands together. "You're a _very_ good runner, Merida. Sure, you could use a little more training― everybody does! But I see a big potential in you. You should run more ― not racing though ― just get into the pace. Once you really get used to it, everything else comes easy." She hummed, "So, you should expect that today's practice would probably be difficult than most since you're still freshly new, but don't let it get to you. I'll give you a list of instructions I want you to do by the end of the practice, and I swear to you, you won't feel like you're dying the next morning."

_What?_

* * *

Merida wanted to die.

No, wait. _Dying_ sounded a lot nicer than this.

Jack came, sweats drenched over his skin, his snowy hair stuck to his forehead messily and he grinned down at her, that damn bastard. _He's enjoying this!_ He bent down slightly, just to catch her eyes. "Let me guess? You're dying?"

She just needed to breathe, dammit!

"Shut― up― Frost." She gritted her teeth, still desperately swallowing down lumps of air.

Jack chuckled, "It goes away, you know. The pain. Hey, Tooth gave me a list of stretches she recommend you do, and some stuff you probably should avoid eating until Saturday. C'mon now, Merida. Just breathe."

She's _trying_ to.

She opened one eye at him, "Why― did she― gave the― list to you?"

"I don't know," Jack shrugged his shoulders. "She guessed she knew how Hans wasn't reliable."

_Yeah_. She nodded, agreeing. He'd probably burn the instructions right in front of her eyes just to watch the suffer lengthened on her part. Merida finally managed to catch up on her breath, still walking around, keeping up a good pace. "You're okay?" Jack asked, standing where he was, still watching her. "I have Skittles if you're done. And water."

Skittles? Merida hiked one eyebrow.

Jack brushed his hair, and only then did Merida realised that he was already in his hoodie. "C'mon," he grinned, "I'll show you where your brother bruised me if you're quick."

And though Merida tried very hard not to― she grinned back.

* * *

So, she sat there in his car with him while waiting on her dad to come pick her up, listening to _All Time Low_ and him commenting about "no feet on the dashboard, you wench" while she stuck her tongue out at him, packets of Skittles half-empty in their hands and a matching amusing smiles carved upon both of their faces, and Merida felt, you know, _better_.

...

**Author's Note: Thanks for the lovely reviews everyone, it really warms my heart to know that my works are well-accepted by other people. It really did mean a lot to hear of your every opinion. I apologise for the lack of Jack/Merida interaction in this, but I swear to you there will be more to come. (And yeah, I throw in a very much subtle hint of Hans/Elsa because I can't help it. _Gosh_.) Once again, thank you for reading. Please do leave a review if you have the time :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Teenage Dirtbag**

**...**

The screaming matches started a little after dinner, when Mum found out that she's signed up for cross-country. Although it was normal occurrences, the arguments she would have with her mother, Merida never (not even _once_) enjoyed a second of it. In fact, she hated it. She hated that they have so many things to argue over, that the only way they could settle stuff was by one of them giving up, that their screams would be so loud, her father feared the large house would collapse over one day.

The worst part was, she didn't _want_ to argue with her mother― not about anything.

But they're both so stubborn on what they wanted, what they thought was right, that the mere thought of a week without clashing thoughts were impossible. Tonight's debate was about how fitting cross-country into her schedule wasn't going to work. Unfortunately, nobody's losing just yet.

"I can't believe ye just went on and did this―"

"Ye can't control ma life forever, mum!"

"I never _want_ to control yer life―"

"Oh yeah? It just _happened_ then?"

"Do not talk to me in such manner, young lady―"

"Oh ma god― _MUM!_"

"Now ye better listen to me, and listen to me good, Merida." Her mum went on to reach for her arms, but Merida was quick to dodge it and stepped behind.

"What," Merida snapped, and she _knew_ she was being rude. "So ye can tell me more on what to do with ma life?!"

"Merida!"

"Honey―" His father's voice queued in, a plea.

"Look at her!" Her mother pointed, the veins on her neck visibly stood up. "Look at yer daughter! Tell her, Fergus. Tell her she needs to―"

"_No_. Yer not goin' to drag Dad into this. I won't allow him to be the next _you_."

Her mother gasped, and came forward, raising her right hand. "How dare―"

Merida anticipated on what's to come, until her three brothers came flying in, cutting Elinor mid-step. With just a single signal by Harris, Merida and the adults looked up to see Hiccup staggering by the stairs, eyebrows hiking up, guilty. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, um."

Elinor cleared her throat, threw a sharp glare to her daughter before calmly nodded towards the brunet. "Perhaps it isn't the right time, Hiccup―"

"Yeah, I should... go..."

"No." Merida yelped, practically _skipped_ forward and grabbed Hiccup's skinny arm. "It's the perfect time. Hiccup and I need to talk."

"Where do ye think yer goin', young lady―"

"Out." Was all the young scot was willing to answer as she drove her friend and herself out of the house and up to the backyard. Once out, Merida let go of Hiccup's arm, knowing the other young man had came by too many times to know his way around, and slowly walked led their way near the stable. She had to go to Angus. Though having a human friend would be a comfort, Merida wasn't really up to speaking with either Hiccup nor Rapunzel when she's fresh off an argument. Her throat still felt a little raw from shouting so loud.

She walked on a little guiltily.

The minutes they walked was spent in silence, and Merida was grateful for that. She knew why Hiccup was here; she'd been successfully avoiding him at school these past few days, and he must have just gathered it would be easier to catch her while she's at home. He's clever. It was just awkward that he managed to catch her in a very unfortunate situation.

"Angus has been missin' ya," she said, when they reached the stable, her voice was a pitch away from cracking. She licked her lips and avoided eye-contact. "Maybe ye could give him a groom, if ye don' mind."

"Uh, yeah." Hiccup answered nonchalantly, and without turning around, Merida could see him shrugging his shoulders, acting as though everything was normal, though he failed miserably at it. "Sure. I've missed him too."

Merida breathed out a chuckle and paused her step, using all her strength to open up the large door of the stable.

"Are you okay?" He asked instead, once they've stepped inside.

"Yeah." She shrilled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uh, because you just had a big fight with your―"

"I don' want to talk about it."

Hiccup clammed his mouth shut, and Merida tried to not miss a beat. She quickly moved to Angus, greeted him like a lost friend, and felt true comfort when her skin came in contact with his fur. He made a happy sound, beckoning her when she murmured soft words into his ears, sending her chuckling. "Look who came to visit ye, Angus." She gestured towards Hiccup, walking to get a bucket full of water.

"Hey there, boy." She heard Hiccup said, patting the stallion's nose. "Yeah, yeah. It's good seeing you too."

"I told you he missed ya." Merida chuckled, and passed him a brush.

"Well, he's not the only one." He responded. "Seriously though. If I keep doing this to him, you'll have to pay me."

Merida chose to shake her head instead, a quiet chortle made its way out of her mouth and she sat on a stool, exhaling out a heavy sigh. The minutes afterwards spent, once again, in a stilled silence, as Hiccup moved about, hushing a few words out as he brushed Angus and Merida was too caught up with her own thoughts to pay attention to anything. Until of course, the young man voice out, grabbing her attention. "Merida."

"What?"

He stared at her for a long time, until he shook his head, his shoulders hunched in defeat. "Dammit Merida, I can't even confront you about Frost."

She was tempted to laugh, but it came out like a weak combination of coughing and chocking. Nevertheless, she gave her friend a pitiful look and a rueful smile, shrugging her shoulders, "I'm sorry."

"No." Hiccup told instead. "Don't be sorry about it. I just― I need to know if you're okay. _Are_ you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Merida drawled. "I always am, or I will be. Isn't that how it works?"

She thought she heard him mumbling out "_Unfortunately_," but she wasn't so sure. All she ever saw was his shrugged shoulders and the conversation stayed like that, for a while. She scratched her chin, pursed her lips and watched him from the corner of her eyes, until: "Jack Frost and I," she began, and he snapped his attention to it, quickly. She shook her head and gnawed on her inner cheeks. "We're just... I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Hiccup inhaled sharply, as though the information was hard to take, dragging his eyes elsewhere. "So... you've been, what, _friends_, all along? Ever since the beginning?"

"What? No." Merida shook her head, her mind astray to flocks of white-platinum blond hair and glinting blue eyes. "I'm... We're friends, ay, but only just recently. When you... well, when you suggested I should seduce him―"

His ears perked up. "Are you?"

"No. No, I'm not." She immediately declined. "But that's when it happened. _Whatever_... between Jack Frost and I."

"So..." He tilted his head to one side. "You're friends?"

"Ay." She slowly answered.

"Are..." Hiccup pondered, "Are you pregnant?"

"No." She exclaimed, deepening her intonation by the end of her sentences. "I am definitely not that."

He nodded, as though he understood the full story. "Did he say anything―"

"No. I'm goin' to stop ye right there." Merida stood up, her hands gestured in a way to stop him from continuing. "I'm not doin' yer dirty job for ye. Yer my friend, Hiccup, my _best_ friend, ay, but Frost isn't a mission. And I'm not some machine detached from her own thoughts and emotions. Jack's become, somewhat, a _friend_ too. And I won't treat him any less. I won't use him, and I won't let you use _me_."

Hiccup stared, dumbfounded before finally nodding his head, sighing heavily. "You're right," he said finally. "You're right. I'm sorry. It wasn't right when I asked you to... yeah. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Merida waved it off dismissively. "I just... I'm glad I made it clear. I never like hiding things from my best friends."

"Wow, you're making me sound like such a dick." Hiccup laughed, snorting.

Merida rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not." She told, grinning. "I'm just happy ye could understand it."

"You know what? After everything that happened―" Merida wasn't sure if he's referring to the argument she had with her mother, or their times being friends, but she decided she won't think of it for too long when he continued. "I guess I don't care as much."

She laughed, and for the first time that night, genuinely. "Now, _that's_ a lie."

"Well, yeah. It would've been nice to have a scoop into the Frost and Elsa's relationship, but..." He shrugged once, and settled on sitting next to her. "It's not worth it, I guess. You and Rapunzel are the only friends I have... I'll be damned if I screw it up."

"Yeah, well. Let's hope any of us won't."

Hiccup hummed, agreeing.

"So, will you be okay?"

"Ay, I guess."

"Are you sure?"

"Ay..." She answered, stared into the night and sighed. _She will be, she decided_.

...

**Author's Note: No Jack in this because 1) I wanna appreciate some Merida/Hiccup bromance. 2) _Story development_. A few plot from this chapter will be brought up in the future, though of course by then it will be highly entangled with Jack's too, and I'm quite excited for it. 3) Because the next chapter will have some Merida/Jack moment and we're going to watch some character development on Jack's side, or maybe both. Shrugs. But definitely, a start of The Big Four.**

**In any case, the favourites/alerts/reviews I've gotten are absolute love. I hope you will be patient with me still for it would be an honour to have all of you along with the journey as the story progresses. Merida/Jack deserves more love. Thank you, and if you have the time, please drop me in an opinion or two. I would love to hear what you think :)**


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